Preheat oven to 120°C/100°C fan-forced. Line a baking tray with baking paper. Mark a 23cm circle on the paper.

Step 2

Using an electric mixer, beat eggwhites until stiff peaks form. Add caster sugar. Beat for 10 minutes or until sugar has dissolved. Add cream of tartar. Beat for 1 minute. Spoon mixture onto circle. Using a palette knife or spatula, shape into a circle with high sides. Make 'furrows' up the sides.

Step 3

Bake for 1 hour or until firm. Turn off oven. Allow to cool in oven with door slightly ajar.

Step 4

Using an electric mixer, beat cream, icing sugar and vanilla until soft peaks form. Place pavlova on a serving plate. Top with cream mixture and fruit. Serve.

Tip: Cream of tartar increases the volume of eggwhites when beating and gives the pavlova a crispy crust.

Ratings & Comments

Ratings & Comments

I note some reviewers struggled with this recipe. I am not a great cook, but have always had success with pav's no matter what recipe I try. This was super easy. I only ever use free range eggs, and do find the yolks softer than cage eggs - but with care I managed to separate the eggs with ease. I don't have an oven either, only a bench cooker, it cooked the pav to perfection. This recipe was superb and worked beautifully, I received rave reviews at the dinner party I served the pav to. Try again people!

2.5roosterrob added this comment at
02:36pm Mon 24th December, 2012

I thought I could trust this recipe. Apparently not... please trust me when I say I followed it perfectly, but like everyone else, once cooked it just crumbled and fell away. I'm very upset. I shouldn't have wasted good ingredients on this awful recipe!!

4.5jamieanne added this comment at
10:51am Thu 15th March, 2012

This was so delicious! I served this pavlova to a dinner guest from the US and she absolutely loved it - she helped herself to two slices!

was a very disappointing recipe :/
after i had mixed everything together the mixture was not fluffy and was very runner. i called my sister in law and asked her about it and she said that i had mixed it too much. i think they should have included that in the recipe

5curlup08 rated this recipe at
03:31pm Tue 28th December, 2010

4curlup08 added this comment at
02:46pm Sun 26th December, 2010

made this for christmas lunch the day before,and was very disappointed with this recipe, I did all that the recipe said but the sides just fell away and I
could not add the cream and fruit to top as it would have just collapsed. I had to cut it up first then add the cream etc. I thought it needed cornflour added to it
curlup08

4fliczac added this comment at
07:18pm Sun 19th September, 2010

my best yet!

3krisvee rated this recipe at
12:58pm Mon 26th April, 2010

2Cooking1 added this comment at
12:32pm Sat 24th April, 2010

I don't think that this recipe is good at all. There is too much caster sugar which leaves that grainy texture and the sugar will leak out while cooking, worst of all it will leave it flat. It also requires you to pour all of the sugar in at once, with pavlova you should gradually add the sugar in WITH the cream of tartar. This was a very disappointing recipe.

2.5lucyliu added this comment at
08:44pm Mon 22nd February, 2010

I was really disappointed with the end result of this. I had 16 people coming over for an important event and followed the recipe exactly. I even cooled it in the oven with the door ajar as an extra precaution. When I took it out it looked great at first and then the filling just sank and sank (my heart sank with it). The crust then started to fall apart as well. In the end I had to break it up and turn it into Eton mess as there was no way I could serve it like that. Any suggestions for a good pav to hold together would be great! This was very disappointing although the Eton mess did save the day!

5saint1y added this comment at
01:00am Mon 22nd February, 2010

The other half wanted to make a cake for my birthday and picked this one out as I love pav. He had some problems separating egg whites the first time and they didn't whip but I separated a second batch for him and he made the rest as per recipe, using a hand whisk in case the beater contributed to the failure of the first egg white batch to whip. Meringue base wasn't quite as high as the pic because his mix was a little more viscous but it turned out very nicely and delicious too. His decorating style with the fruit was adorable and taste was classic pav.

5arvina added this comment at
12:18am Thu 4th February, 2010

I've made this recipe twice...the first time was a bit of a lemon! All the sugar melted into a syrup on the oven tray and the pav collapsed when I put on the topping. I made it again on Australia day and it was perfect. This time I added the sugar in batches and increased the oven temperature slightly. I obviously have a slow oven. Topped it with fresh blueberries, raspberries and passionfruit. Very delicious!!

Brandy1946 replied at
07:37pm Fri 12th February, 2010

Good for you giving it another go :) I always add the sugar a spoonful at a time and never had a failure. good for you in discovering the secret to a great pav!

5missbeetlebug1 added this comment at
07:45pm Tue 26th January, 2010

Made this for Australia Day and it was great! Super easy, crispy on the outside, chewy in the middle-Yum!!! Mine did crack a little but I find that Pav's do no matter how gently you treat them! Just added cream, fresh berries and crumbled a Flake bar-Delish!

4kreynolds added this comment at
11:32am Tue 26th January, 2010

First pavlova in a while and it cracked! Was pretty easy to make. A couple of tips I found were to separate the eggs while they're cold, makes them easier to separate; then let the egg whites come to room temperature before beating. Also to add the sugar 1 tbsp at a time. Would leave the oven door closed while cooling, next time (as suggested by other member).

4.5Ellie71 added this comment at
04:26pm Mon 28th December, 2009

This was my introduction to pavlova-making. Easy to make, however the oven door should be shut while cooling to avoid the cacks in the pav. This aside, we LOVED it!!!

5Jaki added this comment at
04:38pm Sat 26th December, 2009

I have been making pavs for years but decided to try this recipe for Christmas lunch this year. OMG the BEST pavlova EVER... beautiful and crusty on the outside but light and marshmallowy in the centre. I top mine with strawberries and passionfruit. A hit. This is my pav recipe forever! Mmmm!

5Hollyj added this comment at
04:20pm Mon 30th November, 2009

Very easy to make, thick and glossy and really delicious! Very happy with the results!!! I did make mine a bit smaller in that I use 4 egg whites and one cup of caster sugar! It seems to be 1egg to a quarter cup of sugar! So you could make a larger one using this rule!
Yum, and there was fights over who licked the bowl, spoon etc, LOL

4.5lani_ added this comment at
02:17pm Sat 5th September, 2009

My first attempt at making a pav.
Had both my grandmothers on the phone giving me all their pav tricks and my Mum told me that I just HAVE to listen to my nanna, as she makes the best pav ever tasted.
However, all the tips were in the recipe!!! although she did stress a heap on having the bowl/ beaters absolutely spotless for the egg whites.
I have now overtaken my nanna, and have the best pav recipe in the family :)

5Lori_P added this comment at
10:51pm Sat 1st August, 2009

This was DELICIOUS!!!

5melmar68 added this comment at
11:40am Mon 26th January, 2009

I've never made Pav from scratch before so was a little apprehensive, but this was sooo easy. It came out of the oven absolutely perfect, the only downfall was that we had to wait 8 hours before we could eat it! My kids are not big Pavlova eaters but had seconds of this and want me to make another today. It had the perfect amount of sugar so don't sweeten your cream, just add a dash of vanilla essence and your preferred topping.

4lavender_pink added this comment at
07:28pm Sat 24th January, 2009

DELICIOUS and MOUTHWATERING!!!

4izzylovelock added this comment at
07:50pm Sun 11th January, 2009

This was my first attempt at a pavlova, and while mine didn't look quite as perfect as the picture, it was a big hit with the family at Christmas. I followed the recipe exactly and it was pretty straightforward. I'l definitely give it another go and work on the presentation!

Questions

Questions

Question: not sure if this is truly FODMAP friendly. The cream surely discounts it from being?

prettyangel1205 asked
this question at 11:56pm Mon 4th October, 2010

Question: can i just pour my mixture into a round cake baking tray instead of making a circle in the baking tray? :)

twilli59 replied at
08:38pm Sun 7th November, 2010

You may encounter some 'ooze' depending on how well you dissolved the caster sugar. Make sure you leave some space around the edge just in case. The extra baking paper does help when lifting the pav from tray.